Under 3's on dining plan? How does this work?

[my4kids]

Since the dining plan states "under 3 free" - does this mean that I can order a kids appetizer, dinner and dessert for my 2 year old and not be charged points. Or does this mean the baby can sit and eat off our plates? -

The reason I ask is when we were there in Oct. the plan was brand new and every CM and every restaraunt treated it differently and no one seemed to know the answer to this. Some restaraunts charged us points for him if we ordered a meal for him, some gave it to him free, some said he had to eat off our plates and he did not get the plan...some brought him a special "baby meal" of buttered pasta for free, but that was our only choice . I did not make much of a fuss over the confusion because at the time he was not eating much and eating off my plate with some baby food was fine for him. At LeCellier, when I didn't order anything for him, the waitress insisted that he was on the plan too and for free, and I might as well order him an appetizer, dinner and dessert since it was free! When I told her it was not nessesary, she insisted we do it so we could all share his order and taste different things! So then thinking he was free, I ordered for him at CR, and they charged me 2 credits for him!!!!!!!!!!!!!When I realized this the concierge at the hotel added the points back to my acct. and said they shouldn't have charged for him...I was so confused by the whole plan by the end of the week, my husband said never again...it was too much stress trying to order with the points. Also, every restaraunt seemed to have different rules for the plan for my older kids that I had paid for..Teppanyaki wouldn't let them order an appetizer, other restaurants that only had appetizers on the adults menu would bring them an appetizer from the adult menu. It was crazy. I chalked it all up to the fact that the plan was new and the CM's were just learning it.

SOOOOO- my ? is....have they figured it out? Do baby's order a meal for free? or do they get squat? Do kids still get an appetizer off the adult menu for free? Or since they can only order from the kids menu..if theire are no kids appetizers, they are out of luck?

Sorry this is so long- I didn't mean to rant, but we are planning on going back at the end of the year...and I'm trying to decide if the meal plan will be worth it for us.

 

[Sinderelli]

We were on the dining plan in Sept with my 2 year old. We were told at every restaurant that she could eat off the buffet for no charge. However, if we were ordering off the menu and we ordered for her we would be charged. IMO, the dining plan is worth it because we could gear our appetizers towards something she would eat. Also, my DS was on the plan and he could order an appetizer, entree, and dessert. WAY too much food so she would split with him. Having the dining plan with an under 3 year old is really the best of both worlds- you don't have to pay for your child but he/she will still get a full meal every time!

 

[mickeymousemom]

We were also there last October with our 2yo and encountered pretty much the same thing. Our biggest problem was at the PSB at Akershus. Later that same day I discovered that we had one less TS meal than we should have(We had the free DP and we had four "adults"..no kids DP) After some help from the Guest Services at POR(who really were QUITE unfriendly and NOT much help) we figured that our one less TS credit was because the waitress at Akershus had actually charged my 2 year old an adult credit! I had to really argue with the staff at POR to get it back on. The CM tried to tell me that if she was eating her own meal and not sharing with me then she would have gotten charged at TS no matter what her age! This made no sense because the meal is served family style(which we didn't think of til later), so by eating a little out of the skillet they brought, she was, in essence, "sharing" with us. How the heck else could she have shared?! I began to wonder if maybe I should have officially put the food on MY plate, then moved it to hers so she'd have been sharing MY meal! I was extremely angry to say the least, but they eventually did give us one credit back. Also, at San Angel Inn, the waiter seemed totally oblivious to what the DP even was. I couldn't get him to understand that we were on the Dining Plan. He had to go get a manager to help. It was ridiculous and there did seem to be different rules wherever we went! I sure hope that this is pretty much straightened out by now and in October we'll have no problems!

 

[my4kids]

Mickeymousemom-

Oh boy, sounds just like what we went throught several times! - It was so frustrating and it was out first time there! - I wanted to run away screaming! - I could go on and on, but just to save our vacation, I just did'nt order for him and let him scavange from our plates....I was really wishing I had the option to buy a smaller dining plan for him - just so I could point to something and insist that some one feed him!

Anyone else know if they have straightened this out yet?

 

[eeyoreiscool]

We have always been told that at buffets, the kids could eat whatever they wanted for free. If we actually ordered off a menu, then we would have to buy the meal. If we didn't have enough credits, then we would have to pay cash for it.

 

[deelam]

I have a 2 & 1/2 year old that I added to the dining plan. I told Disney that he was 2 &1/2 but I wanted him on the plan. He does not like to share. And really for $11.99 a day, for me it's worth not having the hassle of having him get upset. I know it is allot of food, but for $11.99 per day, I'm not worried. I did have to buy a 1 day pass, I'll use that when we go back in October anyway.

 

[scanne]

When we ate at 'Ohana (not on the dining plan) my DD didn't eat the 'normal' offerings. Our server brought us a plate of chicken fingers and did NOT charge us for them. Way cool for our server to do that!

 

[Monkey Bum]

I have a 2 & 1/2 year old that I added to the dining plan. I told Disney that he was 2 &1/2 but I wanted him on the plan. He does not like to share. And really for $11.99 a day, for me it's worth not having the hassle of having him get upset. I know it is allot of food, but for $11.99 per day, I'm not worried. I did have to buy a 1 day pass, I'll use that when we go back in October anyway.

I got the same story when booking. I was asked if I wanted to buy the DP for my will be 2 year old when we visit.

 

[mommyceratops]

I got the same story when booking. I was asked if I wanted to buy the DP for my will be 2 year old when we visit.

We were there the end of Jan and got the mixed info on the dining plan also. My DS2 was never charged unless we ordered him something off the menu. He could eat off the buffets for free. Also I was told if I wanted the dining plan for him I had to buy him a park ticket.

My DS5 could eat either way on the adult or kids menu. Never made sense to us.

One thing we did learn is for counter service it did not matter if we got him a kids meal so we would buy an adult for him and split it with my DS2 years old.

The one thing I loved about the dining plan was my DS5 tried lots of new foods!

 

[Jen D]

We just went with our dd, just shy of 2. He ate off buffets at no charge. Usually at regular table service he would just eat of the rest of our plates; once or twice we went ahead and ordered him his own kids meal and just made it clear to the server that we would pay for that out of pocket. We didn't have any problems doing it this way.

 

[mickeymousemom]

Mickeymousemom-

Oh boy, sounds just like what we went throught several times! - It was so frustrating and it was out first time there! - I wanted to run away screaming! - I could go on and on, but just to save our vacation, I just did'nt order for him and let him scavange from our plates....I was really wishing I had the option to buy a smaller dining plan for him - just so I could point to something and insist that some one feed him!

Anyone else know if they have straightened this out yet?

What was so bad about this was that we didn't HAVE to order off the menu for her. It was all brought to us family style! It was SO obvious that even the CM's at POR had no idea how this worked when we had to argue and fight to get the credit put back on! We had no problem with her anywhere else but for some reason our waitress at Akershus charged her a TS credit. I'm still puzzled.

 

[MemoryMakers2669]

Just like Deelam...

In December, I added the Dining Plan for our 2 year old. She eats GOOD! I called and asked if I could add her and they said yes...they put her in as a three year old. Yes, we had to buy a one day base ticket for her as well, but it was still worth it for us. When we go this December, we are renting DVC points and that one day base ticket we just bought, will go towards her park ticket we will have to buy! So, it wasn't a waste at all.

Keep in mind, we never ate at a buffet, it was all menu table service...so she ate free nowhere. We also didn't get any appetizers for either of them or desserts at most places.....since they didn't need them!

 

[labdogs42]

Wow, that is kind of confusing. I'm going in May with the dining plan for DH and myself and nothing for my 15 month DS. I was figuring he would just eat off of our plates or I'd pay OOP if there was something I thought he wouldn't eat of ours. I never really thought I could order food for him for free. It is interesting that they offered that to you when you were there. I hope they have it figured out by May!

 

[DebIreland]

Just like Deelam...
In December, I added the Dining Plan for our 2 year old. She eats GOOD! I called and asked if I could add her and they said yes...they put her in as a three year old. Yes, we had to buy a one day base ticket for her as well, but it was still worth it for us. When we go this December, we are renting DVC points and that one day base ticket we just bought, will go towards her park ticket we will have to buy! So, it wasn't a waste at all.
Keep in mind, we never ate at a buffet, it was all menu table service...so she ate free nowhere. We also didn't get any appetizers for either of them or desserts at most places.....since they didn't need them!

I'm confused on this. I know you didn't do buffets but if you did, would she then be charged a credit even though she's only 2?

 

[deelam]

I'm confused on this. I know you didn't do buffets but if you did, would she then be charged a credit even though she's only 2?

I would think she would be charged a credit at the buffet, if you pushed the issue of her being only 2 you could probably get around it. Remember, the dining is only $11.99. So if you do a snack and 2 kid's meals a day(TS &CS) at a non buffet restaurant it really does pay for itself.

 

[MemoryMakers2669]

I'm confused on this. I know you didn't do buffets but if you did, would she then be charged a credit even though she's only 2?

Hmm, not sure of this answer really. We had all our ADRs in place when I decided to add her....figured out her cost per day, with a kids meal at one TS and one CS and a snack (plus taxes and tip AND using DDE discount) and it was more than the cost of the DP, so we did it.....NOT factoring in the extra $50 something for the one day ticket...knew we would use it next year.

 

[PoohHappens]

I am not sure why this is such a big issue. The rules are the same on the DP or not. If at a buffett or all you can eat type meal anyone under 3 can eat from the food for free. With a menu you pay for what you order for the child, or they can eat off your plate for free. There are a few restaurants that will bring you "Baby" plate for free and this is very kind of them, but not expected.
I am sorry some of you had confusing experiences with this. The person who had the wait staff suggest ordering off the menu for free--that was a confused server. Even when paying cash we have been charged at a buffett for our under 3 (at the time). We just had to let them know and they immediately corrected it. I am sure the same thing can happen with the credits. Just pay attention to your receipt at the end of the meal how many credits you were charged. If you were charged it was a mistake, not because your child at some food.

 

[luv2nascar]

our DD turned 2 the day we left to come home. She ate free at the buffets/family style meals. they would give her a kid drink free too. If we ordered a kids meal for her we paid out of pocket (we were on dining plan).
With all the food on the dining plan we only ordered for her 2-3 times I think.

 

[deelam]

I think it all depends on the child. If your child is very young, like 2 or under, I would let that child eat off my plate. My 2 year old is closer to 3 and will need his own eveything. And since we aren't planning many buffets, we are better off with the plan.